Get Your Fruit On

Friday, June 19, 2009

Tara Gidus, MS, RD, CSSD, LD/N

Get Your Fruit On! I love this new tagline from Tropicana. Statistics show that 7 out of 10 Americans are not getting enough fruit in their daily diets. The Dietary Guidelines encourage us to get 2 cups of fruit per day. For those who do get their fruit, many are getting it from 100% orange juice.

Children are especially susceptible to not getting enough fruit. An 8 ounce glass of 100% orange juice has:

2 servings of fruit

120% of Vitamin C

13% of Potassium

15% of Folic Acid

No Sugar Added

110 Calories

Tropicana donated 170,000 fruit servings to the USDA Summer Food Service Program upfront, then 80,000 more fruit servings to the School Breakfast Program through pledges from Americans pledging to increase their fruit intake. Both programs offer free or reduced price nutritious meals to children in low- income areas.

Other tips to Get Your Fruit On (courtesy of Elizabeth Ward, RD):

• Add in-season fruit to your morning bowl of oats or cereal.
• Blend a smoothie using your favorite fresh or frozen fruit and a cup of OJ
• Create a breakfast trail mix by combining dried fruit, nuts, and cereal. You can also use this as a snack.
• Assemble breakfast fruit kabobs using pineapple chunks, bananas, grapes, and berries.
• Drink a glass of 100% fruit juice at breakfast.

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